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A unique partnership between the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California, Berkeley, creates unparalleled opportunities for students at both schools. The cooperative relationship means students in many UCB degree programs -- including both graduate students and upper-division undergraduates -- are eligible with their advisor's approval to cross-register for courses at the GTU, at no additional cost. The GTU library at 2400 Ridge Road and most of our classrooms are just a five-minute walk north of the Cal campus.
The GTU is the most comprehensive center for the graduate...

A unique partnership between the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California, Berkeley, creates unparalleled opportunities for GTU students and faculty. The cooperative relationship with this world-class university just a five-minute walk from our campus enables GTU students to cross register for courses at UC Berkeley, to access university libraries, and to enhance their studies through the incorporation of university disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, ethnic studies, and Near Eastern studies.
The collaborative relationship with the UC Berkeley has...

Awards Committee
Consists of two members of the Core Doctoral Faculty and the GTU Dean. The committee meets three times a year to review entries and make decisions on the Chan Essay Contest, Student Travel Awards, and Newhall Awards.
AY 18-19 Members
Jerome Baggett (JST)
Rossitza Schroeder (PSR)
Borsch-Rast Book Prize & Lectureship Selection Committee
The Borsch-Rast Prize and Lectureship of the Graduate Theological Union has as its purpose the encouragement of the writing and publication of theological scholarship by GTU graduates and current faculty. The selection committee...

We have received word of the death of Dr. Dody Donnelly, who taught at several schools in the GTU. She died in San Rafael on April 6, and there will be a memorial Mass for her on Friday, May 10 at 10.30 AM at the McLean Chapel on the campus of Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd. Oakland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Amnesty International www.amnestyusa.org.
Dody [Dorothy] H. Donnelly (June 29, 1920 – April 6, 2013) became the first full time woman professor at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union in 1971. She served as professor...

As in past years, the GTU will be well represented at the Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature and not just in attendance.
At AAR, 19 faculty, 35 alumni, and 10 students will present, preside, and respond in 82 different sessions. At SBL, 5 faculty, 16 alumni, and 4 students will participate in 32 sessions. We could be a conference in ourselves.
If you haven't decided which sessions to attend, use our guides below which highlight the GTU's presence. We are grateful to Beth Anderson who compiled these lists.
American Academy of Religion |...

As has been the case for a number of years, GTU alumni, faculty, and students will make a strong showing during the 2012 Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). GTU connected persons will serve as 30 presenters, 7 panelists, 2 respondents, and 1 presider during SBL and 55 presenters, 6 panelists, 5 respondents, and 18 presiders during AAR. AAR and SBL are the central professional organizations for those engaged in religion and scholarship of the Bible. It is an acheivement to participate at this level at the annual national...

For Immediate Release - January 23, 2018
Berkeley, CA - The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce that Dr. Naomi Seidman, Koret Professor of Jewish Culture at the GTU’s Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies, has been awarded the inaugural Borsch-Rast Book Prize and Lectureship for her 2016 book, The Marriage Plot, Or, How Jews Fell in Love with Love, and with Literature (Stanford University Press). The newly established Borsch-Rast Book Prize will be awarded annually and carries a prize of $10,000. The award seeks to encourage innovative and creative theological...

The Graduate Theological Union is actively engaged in a search for the school’s next president and will continue to accept applications from interested candidates through March 1, 2018. We are seeking an innovative and collaborative leader whose compelling vision can inspire and unite this dynamic interreligious institution. The presidential search committee is encouraging the entire GTU community to invite qualified candidates to apply for this position.
Those interested in applying can download a full job description for the position and can find additional information on the Presidential...

Borroughs
Davidson
Beginning July 1, Steed V. Davidson and Bradley B. Burroughs will hold joint appointments on the faculties of Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS); both are founding members of the GTU. Davidson already serves as a professor at PLTS, while Burroughs is new to both seminaries.
Burroughs most recently taught courses in contemporary theology at Duke Divinity School's Course of Study for Ordained Ministry in Durham, North Carolina, where he also served as a writing tutor, both at the divinity school and at the ...

“I’m amazed,” says, Alejandro (Alex) García-Rivera, Professor of Systematic Theology and GTU Core Doctoral Faculty Member, about receiving the 2010 Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award. “I had very little teaching experience when I came here, and at the start, I didn’t know what I was doing. My ‘training’ came — as in an apprenticeship — mostly from colleagues and through trial and error. What I learned along the way is that teaching is about communication, and that if I pay attention to my method of teaching, it can improve and go beyond the apprentice model.” Continuous improvement has paid...

Nominations for the Graduate Theological Union’s first annual Borsch-Rast Book Prize and Lectureship are open through August 1, 2017, for books published in calendar year 2016. The Borsch-Rast Prize is a newly established annual award of $10,000 for an outstanding scholarly work written by a GTU graduate or faculty member that provides new perspectives on theological or religious issues and demonstrates a creative and innovative approach. Nominations for books published in 2016 must be submitted by August 1, 2017, to the dean’s office using the online form available on the GTU website at www....

by Gabriella Lettini (SKSM) and Rita Nakashima Brock
Published: Beacon Press (November 2012)
Description: The first book to explore the idea and effect of moral injury on veterans, their families, and their communities.
Although veterans make up only 7 percent of the U.S. population, they account for an alarming 20 percent of all suicides. And though treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder has undoubtedly alleviated suffering and allowed many service members returning from combat to transition to civilian life, the suicide rate for veterans under thirty has been increasing. Research by...

Remarks by Dr. Judith BerlingGTU Commencement, Thursday, May 12, 2016
I want to join my voice in warmly congratulating you graduates on making it to this joyous day, and congratulating as well the spouses, partners, families, and friends who supported them along the way. Well done, all of you!!
Over the many years that I spoke at doctoral student orientation, I would joke that I had been at the GTU a long time, and I hoped that they would graduate faster than I had. Well, at 29 years I have finally made it: in one sense I am commencing with you today. But my masters/Ph.D. commencement...

Recently, Naomi Seidman, Director of the Center for Jewish Studies, traveled to Warsaw in commemoration of the uprising and the publication of her father's diary into Polish. Upon her return, the j profiled the important work her father did. An excerpt follows:
“My father was the archivist of the pre-war Warsaw Jewish community,” Seidman said in an interview. “He wrote in Polish, Hebrew and Yiddish, and was a Ph.D. of Jewish history.”
Seidman’s ghetto archives often are overshadowed by the famous Emmanuel Ringelblum Archives — a treasure trove of diaries, memoirs, artwork and artifacts buried...

For Immediate Release - May 11, 2018
The Graduate Theological Union is pleased to announce that Dr. Jean-François Racine, associate professor of New Testament at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (JST-SCU), is the recipient of the 2018 GTU Excellence in Teaching Award. The GTU Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes a member of the GTU’s core doctoral faculty who is an exemplary embodiment of interreligious sensitivity and commitment, interdisciplinary approach to religious studies, and creative and effective classroom pedagogical methods and performance. Dr. Racine’s...

For Immediate Release
Contact: Doug Davidson, communications@gtu.edu, 510-649-2423
Berkeley, CA, May 23, 2018 - The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) of Berkeley, California, is pleased to announce the selection of Rabbi Daniel L. Lehmann as the eighth president in the school’s fifty-six-year history. Rabbi Lehmann comes to the GTU from Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts, where he recently completed his tenure as president and professor of pluralism and Jewish education. Lehmann also served as board chair of the Boston Theological Institute, where he successfully led Hebrew College to...

For Immediate ReleaseBerkeley, CA – May 1, 2017 - The Graduate Theological Union is pleased to announce the establishment of the Borsch-Rast Book Prize and Lectureship, an annual award of $10,000 for an outstanding scholarly work written by a GTU graduate or faculty member. The endowment for the Borsch-Rast Prize comes from the sale of Trinity Press International (TPI), a venture dedicated to the publication of scholarly and often interdisciplinary theological studies. “Thanks to this endowment, the GTU is able to offer one of the highest (if not the highest) book prize award for authors and...

The Graduate Theological Union recently received a gift to support a competitive prize for graduates and faculty.
The GTU is pleased to announce the establishment of the The Borsch-Rast Endowed Fund. The Borsch-Rast Prize and Lectureship of the Graduate Theological Union seeks to encourage the writing and publication of theological scholarship by GTU graduates and current faculty. The endowment for the Borsch-Rast Prize and Lectureship comes from the sale of Trinity Press International, a venture dedicated to the publication of scholarly and often interdisciplinary theological studies. The...

An institution of higher learning unlike any other, the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley brings together scholars of the world’s diverse religions and wisdom traditions to advance new knowledge, share inspiration, and collaborate on solutions.